BUFFALO, N.Y. — For locally owned bookstores across the country, the last weekend April means it's time for a special celebration. In honor of the 10th annual Independent Bookstore Day on Saturday, April 29, 10 of Buffalo's bookstores teamed up for the city's first ever bookstore passport.
"It's a map of all the different locations," Meg Howe of Alice, Ever After Books said. "You can collect stamps at every location, and turn it in to get $275 in bookstore gift cards."
The grand prize winner will receive a $25 gift card to each participating store.
Howe is a native Western New Yorker who moved back to the area with her family during the pandemic. She opened Alice, Ever After Books in 2021, which is the city's only children's bookstore. She says the idea for the passport was born out of her own travels around Buffalo.
"I'm obviously a bookstore person, so I actually did kind of the passport my first year," she said. "I went around to every location, and I just thought that we have such a unique opportunity here in the city with so many different independent bookstores, and they each have their own vibe, they're each in a different neighborhood. I wanted folks around Western New York to see what a great literary community we have here."
You can pick up a bookstore passport at any participating store. There is no purchase necessary to participate.
Alice, Ever After Books is located on Parkside Avenue across from the Buffalo Zoo. The shop will have extended hours from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and special events happening throughout the day on April 29 for Independent Bookstore Day.